


Thriller Night

by aireyv



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Fluff, I write fics under 2k words??, I write fluff?, M/M, ft. Decoy Octopus as a cockblock, horror movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:08:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9599696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aireyv/pseuds/aireyv
Summary: Tretij Rebenok isn't good with scary movies, and some things never change.





	

**Author's Note:**

> No editing we die like men

Eli tossed a tape at him, and Tretij caught it without it ever touching his hands.

 _You want to watch… this?_ Tretij thought at him, staring at the VHS’s cover.

Eli shrugged. “I thought it looked interesting.”

_But isn’t this a horror movie?_

“Yes. So?”

Now Tretij stared at him. Eli gazed impassively back for a second, then walked over and took the tape off his hands. He supposed that Tretij had never seen _any_ movie before, let alone a horror movie-

_I never got the chance to…_

-and he was unsurprised.

“Then let’s watch it,” Eli said, holding it up and giving it a slight shake for emphasis. (It rattled.) Although Eli had had a far from safe, stable childhood and was in the midst of an admittedly even stranger adolescence, he was still determined to introduce Tretij to at least _some_ normal experiences… like watching movies. He’d taken the kid under his wing close to two years ago now, so by this point it was the least he could do.

 _“Under your wing”?_ Tretij asked him. He ‘sounded’ skeptical.

“Nevermind,” Eli said smoothly. Perhaps it was inaccurate to characterize their relationship that way, considering how many times Tretij had saved his life so far, but - it wasn’t relevant right now. They had a movie to watch.

_If you don’t want to think about it, then don’t bring it up…_

* * *

 “Look at that blood. It’s so _fake._ ”

_…do they use real blood in other movies?_

“No, of course not. I think that’s illegal. But it’s supposed to _look_ real, and whatever it is they used is far too viscous.”

Tretij nodded, engrossed in the screen. _Those intestines are supposed to look real, too, right?_

“It’s realistic gore that makes a horror movie scary,” Eli told him.

_But gore isn’t scary._

“I know. Horror movies aren’t scary.”

 _Then why are they called “horror” movies?_ He paused, thinking. _I think some people I’ve read the minds of would be scared by gore and dead bodies. Those must be the sort of people who are scared by horror movies._

“That’s likely,” Eli said, turning back to the film.

 _…but then, I don’t understand why someone would watch a movie just to be scared by it. Fear is a_ bad _emotion._

“Tretij, just watch the movie, will you?”

Tretij hushed up and did as asked. (Of course, when didn’t he?) He was totally absorbed in the movie after a few minutes; Eli supposed that the dark, brooding atmosphere of it was something familiar and passingly comfortable to him. Eli himself was just finding the movie kind of lame. He couldn’t really recall the last time he’d sat down and watched anything, let alone a horror film, but nonetheless he didn’t appreciate the clichés.

 _All horror movies are like this?_ Tretij thought.

“I think a lot of them are.”

_Why is that bad writing, Eli?_

“It’s… uncreative, which means it’s easy to predict what will happen next. That makes it boring.”

Tretij grabbed Eli’s arm. _Not being able to predict what will happen next is terrible, though._ The movie had reached a scene where the main character was being stalked by the slasher, and Tretij was watching _very_ intently, his grip on Eli’s arm tightening with every passing minute. _Is this what it’s like for you?_

“What?” Eli said, glancing at him.

_You keep thinking the killer’s going to show up any second now, but… I don’t know when exactly. Normally I can tell exactly when someone will show up because I can hear their thoughts, but this is a movie… I can’t do that…_

“Well,” Eli said, “it _is_ only a movie. You can’t read the killer’s thoughts because the killer isn’t real.”

_I know, but… just thinking about not being able to hear someone coming like that… it’s-_

“Don’t tell me you’re scared,” Eli teased.

Tretij pressed the side of his head against Eli’s shoulder, still watching the screen. _How can you live like that?_

“You only think that such a thing is frightening because you’re so used to being able to listen to everyone’s thoughts,” Eli said, “but since I can’t do that in the first place, I’m completely used to relying on my _other_ senses to not be caught off guard. And besides,” he added, making an aggressive gesture with the hand Tretij wasn’t clinging to, “in a situation like this, if _I_ were being stalked like that, when the killer showed up I’d just-“

The killer suddenly appeared on-screen and Tretij actually screamed out loud. The VHS player stopped suddenly with an ugly grinding noise.

Eli blinked, stunned, then glanced down at Tretij, who had ducked under his shoulder and hid with his gas mask pressed against Eli’s chest.

“You baby,” Eli grumped. He seriously doubted they’d get to finish the movie tonight. Although he did have to admit that the way Tretij trembled under his arm was kind of… cute…

_What do you mean, cute??? …and why are you so embarrassed all of a sudden??_

“N-Nevermind,” Eli said. “This was a dumb idea anyway.”

* * *

 Liquid held up the DVD case and rattled it. “Guess what, Mantis,” he said, grinning.

Mantis gave him an unimpressed glare. “You and your horror movies…”

“We haven’t watched one together in _such_ a long time.”

“We watched one together _once_ , fifteen years ago.”

“Which qualifies it as a long time.” He gave the case another hopeful rattle. “Come on, Mantis. One of the break rooms actually has a DVD player in it now. I think we should take advantage of it.”

Mantis rolled his eyes. “Fine, if you insist. But stop thinking about the last time we watched a horror movie together, it will not be like that this time. I am a grown man.”

“I know,” Liquid said defensively, “I just want to watch a movie.”

* * *

 “I actually figured out why people enjoy watching horror films,” Mantis talked over the movie. “It’s really the same reason why people go on roller coasters and other such rides. They desire the rush of adrenaline that comes from their brain assuming that they are in danger, without _actually_ putting themselves in danger. Although some people,” he added with a significant glance at Liquid, “just like the little power trip that comes with imagining how _they_ would fight the movie’s villain if _they_ were in the main character’s situation…”

“Mantis, shh,” Liquid said without looking away from the screen, “I’m trying to watch this.”

“If my input is not appreciated, then I’ll just go.”

Liquid glanced up at him. “What? No, stay. I want to watch this _with you_.”

Mantis sighed theatrically and sat back down. “I suppose I haven’t actually watched a horror movie since that one you attempted to show me fifteen years ago. …I should watch films like this more often. I like the aesthetic of it. It’s very gloomy.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“I know you did.” They watched the movie in silence for a few minutes. “…I can’t believe the movie is trying to convince us that that body is several days old.”

Liquid shrugged. “I’ve found that a lot of horror movies tend to shy away from showing actual decomposition. I suppose it’s just _too_ off-putting.”

“Isn’t the _point_ to be off-putting?”

“Yes, but they also have to be palatable to a general audience if they actually want to make money at the box office…”

“Perhaps then the general audience should-“ The monster abruptly appeared onscreen, and Mantis jumped, grabbing Liquid’s arm tightly.

There was brief moment where the only sound was some character in the movie screaming, then Liquid stifled a laugh. Mantis glared at him.

“It’s nice to know that some things never change.”

“I-“ Mantis started, embarrassed, “that _startled_ me.”

“Right.”

“I was not _scared._ ”

Liquid kept chuckling to himself. Irritated, Mantis let go of his arm and stood up again. “Oh, no,” Liquid said, grabbing his hand, “Mantis, it’s alright if the jump-scare frightened you a little, in fact it’s-“ he cut himself off, trying to think of a word other than _adorable_ , then started over, “well, don’t you want to finish the movie?”

Mantis gave him a withering look.

“Please?”

Mantis sat down again with an annoyed huff. Liquid wasted no time in flinging an arm over Mantis’ shoulders, partly to prevent Mantis from trying to leave again, partly because he was still thinking about that day when they were still children. And in spite of his slightly bruised ego, Mantis remembered with a certain measure of fondness the way he’d instinctively turned to Eli for protection, and how safe he felt with him - how safe he _still_ felt with him…

And it was just a movie anyway. Even if he didn’t see the monster coming, it wasn’t like it was real. Mantis leaned his head on Liquid’s shoulder, and for once felt content.

He ducked out from under Liquid’s arm about three seconds before Octopus entered the room.

“Oh, _this_ movie,” Octopus said, sitting on the couch between Liquid and Mantis, fully aware of how Liquid was glowering at him but pretending he didn’t notice, “I actually used to know the guy who directed this.”

“That’s nice,” Liquid said through gritted teeth.

Mantis rolled his eyes, looking away. This was a dumb idea, anyway.


End file.
